GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Germany processes the Trump threat on two radically different registers. DW reprints the facts dryly, but the killer detail is Chancellor Merz's spokesperson: 'This isn't the first time he's done this, and since it's a recurring phenomenon, you can probably judge the consequences for yourself.' A blend of weariness and condescension that betrays Berlin's deep irritation — while carefully avoiding any direct confrontation with Trump.

But Tagesschau reveals the essential story with its investigation into Article 42.7 of the EU Treaty — the European mutual defense clause. The document is explosive: internal protocols from March 12 show France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria pushing to activate the clause, while Ireland, Malta and Italy are blocking. A German diplomat writes in a note to Berlin that the discussion 'bodes poorly for EU responsiveness' and that Europe 'hasn't yet arrived in geopolitical reality.'

Sweden's ambassador to Berlin, Veronika Wand-Danielsson, keeps a model Taurus cruise missile on her desk and says 'Europe must wake up, we're already in a Cold War.' DW also reports that Italy denied US aircraft access to the Sigonella base in Sicily. The Zeitenwende — the strategic turn announced in 2022 — is still being digested, and Trump's threat accelerates a reckoning Berlin would have preferred to conduct at its own pace.